Hello, I am a new lab mom. Happy arrived in our home 2 days ago and we are first time Lab parents. She settles easily when on or near me and then I can transfer her to her crate, which I keep next to our sofa, with the door open. We are in the process of crate training, but she has just been with us a little over 48 hours. Am I giving her bad habits or will I be able to have her fall asleep directly in her crate in a few days? thanks for your answers… so worried to do something wrong
I've found it best to allow a sleepy puppy to make their own decision to go into the crate rather than be asleep and placed in the crate. I guide the puppy into the crate, allowing the pup to walk in and settle. This has been more successful for me than placing a pup already asleep in the crate. They seem to accept where they are when they wake up and are more relaxed.
When I brought my pup home at 7 weeks she slept on my lap for several weeks. On her own, she decided that wasn’t for her anymore particularly when she started the biting phase. I also got her a dog bed for when she was outside of the crate and by 4 months she was starting to nap there regularly along with sleeping fine in her crate when I needed to confine her. So don’t worry, you won’t create a bad habit.
Thank you for your reply. It gives me hope that what we experience is a phase and that it will come to pass… It’s great to hear your success story and hopefully in a few months we will be at the same place as you.
My last labrador fell asleep on me the first few days. He was fine and helped us bond. He was okay with crate but never loved it. My new lab, 12 wks, hated the crate, did all the right things, he explored it, ate in it, had treats in it, kept the door shut for a few seconds, a minute, etc. but his reaction at longer was severe. I opted for a pen around the kennel and it worked much better. Sure, no Xmas tree this year, don't have a huge house, but he liked having a small "yard" and kennel door open. Sure the pen is locked at times, but not as confining. Never did potty there and I hope one day to just have the pen when older for when he really needs supervision and then one day, he'll just be on his dog beds or couch. Never force dog in crate, there will always be a bad connotation to it.
